Green Party candidate Ken Krayeske stopped by The Middletown Press last week for a chat. Krayeske is running against incumbent Democrat John Larson and Republican candidate Ann Brickley for the 1st District congressional seat.

Barely seated at our conference room table, Krayeske expressed his frustration with local traffic and said he wants to eliminate single-occupant vehicles and instead focus on improving public transportation.

"I hate sitting in traffic!" he exclaimed.

Other things he wants to accomplish are Medicare for all, free college tuition (a cap on college prices) and changing the state and nation's drug laws to empty out prisons of non-violent offenders.

"We need to stop being hard on crime," he said. "We have the world's largest prison population - is that the land of the free?"

Krayeske himself spent a brief stint behind bars. While reporting for his Web site, The 40-Year Plan, about Gov. Jodi Rell’s inauguration in 2007, Krayeske was arrested by state police due to comments he made on a message board that were considered to be threatening. Krayeske — who worked on Cliff Thornton’s campaign for Rell’s seat — says the comments were not intended as a threat.

Although Krayeske was cleared of the charges, he still alleges being singled out and says his bond in the trial — $75,000 — was exceedingly high compared to similar cases.

The former newspaper reporter is not opposed to controversy and speaking up on issues he cares about.

While a law student at the University of Connecticut, Krayeske questioned men’s basketball head coach Jim Calhoun about his salary, among the highest for Connecticut employees, prompting Calhoun to say that he would give “not a dime back.”

Krayeske's main goal is to change the electoral system to allow for third-party candidates to easier run for election.

"We need to create a multi-party Democracy without a negative feedback loop," he said, referring to people's willingness to say "I don't want this candidate, so I will vote for his opponent."

"Ballot access in Connecticut is a nightmare," Krayeske said. "We have people wanting to run for office, but they can't even get into a debate."

Krayeske also wants to see more voter participation.

"We also need to create a system where if you're a citizen, you vote," he said. "You perpetuate self-governance by growing voters."

For more information on Krayeske, CLICK HERE.

For a story and videos of Krayeske from our sister publication, The Register Citizen, CLICK HERE.

The Middletown Press will meet with John Larson on Tuesday, and we are in the process of scheduling a meeting with Ann Brickley.